Sperm Donation

My husband is azoospermic, and I am CMV-negative, so have been told that I will need sperm from a CMV-negative donor. Do you have CMV-negative donors, without me having 2 wait for 2 years? (- as I have been advised by my local NHS hospital) Also why is CMV such an issue when, let's face it, if I went out and conceived 'naturally' with another man, the last thing I would be asking him would be his CMV status(!)

Our Expert's Answer

This information was published 12 years, 4 months ago and was correct at the time of publication. It may not reflect our current practices or regulations.

Please note that all the answers we give are on a generic basis only, as we cannot provide more in-depth answers without access to your medical history. If you need a more detailed response, tailored to you, we would recommend a consultation with one of our Fertility Specialists for more comprehensive medical advice.

In answer to the first part of your question, we do have CMV negative donors read to use for treatment at Manchester Fertility. CMV (cytomegalovirus) is a common virus which has no health risks to you but if you were to catch this during pregnancy does have some risk to the unborn child.  You are correct you could conceive naturally with a CMV positive man but when you are having treatment at a fertility clinic we try and reduce the risk to you and your potential child to an absolute minimum. Here we endeavour to match CMV status of the sperm donor and the recipient.